As a student, you can only take $5500 or so per year. The rest of the 60K+ tuition has to come from your family’s EFC + financial aid (could include both loans(like Parent Plus) and grants)+ merit aid.
Colleges typically give merit aid to attract students in the top 10% of their pool. That’s why there were some posters who indicated you should apply to schools where you can get merit. Before you get extremely invested in falling in love with the top schools, be sure to check the NPC and see what your family can afford. You have not answered any posts regarding this issue. You don’t want to be one of those students who works hard to get into a dream school, only to find out it’s not affordable. Financial aid can and should be gauged beforehand.